Still on a U2 high

I'm still buzzing from the U2 concert.
It was awesome!! I have waited more than half my life to see them live and now I finally got the chance, and it was everything I hoped it would be.
The tickets said that no photographic equipment would be allowed, and like an idiot, I left my camera in the car. Of course nobody checked. I took some photos and videos on my mobile phone until the battery died.
We were way up in the nosebleed section, which we managed to climb without supplemental oxygen. It turned out that my friend is afraid of heights, and she nearly got a heart attack just getting to our seats. But we got there in the end. Sitting comfortably and watching all the people in the pit crowding, I thought to myself: I'm glad I'm not down there in the crowd since morning!
Then the show started.
All I could think was: OMG I want to be down there by the stage!!
But I enjoyed the show from the wuthering heights instead.
The band were great. The show was amazing. The crowd went nuts and sang along to every word. I was so excited, I cried during "Where the streets have no name", which was very emotional not just for me. At the end of the song Bono said, "Wow. What was that?! Whatever it was, I want more!". The energy in the stadium was palpable.
The show ended with Bono flying a kite tied to some balloons over the audience. For some reason he dedicated the song (Kite) to Cate Blanchett.
The show was over way too soon, I couldn't believe when I looked at my watch and saw that it had been about 2.5 hours...
I used to be totally nuts about U2. Now I am a bit older, maybe wiser, definitely more cynical. And still, at the show I felt like I was 16 again.

Go ahead, entertain me

One more day till the U2 concert.
Their first Sydney concert is tonight. I'm going tomorrow.

Oh my, Bono looks older, especially with that haircut.

Take a look at the set! It's HUGE!

"I'm very happy to be here, I'm excited," Bono says.

You're excited?!

U2 reunited in the studio last month to record a new song, Window in the Skies. It's one of two bonus tracks on a compilation album, U218, which they're releasing this month.

Sydney fans may be among the first to hear the song performed live when U2 play tonight.

"Have you heard Window in the Skies?" Bono says. "Wow, that's a big song."

Woohoo!!

U2 woohoo!!

In just a few more days I will finally get to see U2 in concert. Oh I am so excited....

You see, I have my tickets for this show for nearly a year now. It was supposed to be in March but it was postponed... and now the fab four are here in Sydney getting ready to entertain me.
When I was a wee lass I was totally, utterly nuts about U2. Absolutely insane about them. I hang onto every word that came out of Bono's mouth as if he was at least some prophet or something.

Now I'm a bit older... and a bit wiser... and I've changed quite a lot, I don't have quite as many hormones rushing through my veins, and I tend to look at the world in a slightly more mature, sometimes cynical way.

So I was really pleasantly surprised yesterday when I saw Bono being interviews by Andrew Denton (it's a weekly interview type TV show). I missed the beginning of it, but from what I saw I could tell that Bono is indeed more than just a dumb celebrity rock star. And I was quite happy and totally fine with the idea of him being one, just as long as he makes good music and gives a good show. But what I got from the interview is this: that he is smart, eloquent, educated, passionate, sincere, and very much grounded. He doesn't try to pretend that he isn't a millionaire rock star leading a millionaire rock star's life. He seemed a bit surprised that it turned out that way, but he embraced it fully. Which didn't stop him being an intelligent, hard-working, well-spoken person who is doing his best to do some good in this world.

Another band that I used to be completely nuts about in the 1990's is coming to town: Pearl Jam. I used to think that Eddie Vedder was the bee's knees when I was a teenager. But unlike U2, Pearl Jam don't seem to have changed much since then, not in their music and not in their politics. I feel I have changed so much and they have stayed the same. I take that back; their music used to be much better. Ten was an amazing album and every album the made since has been steadily worse than the one before it.

It's a pity. Eddie has a great voice and he makes for good eye candy. But I won't be going to their gig.

Happiness is (nearly) instant gratification

Blogger was being a lemon yesterday so I couldn't post my daily picture. I'll have to snap something new and see if I can download it here at work.
Meanwhile, I'm a happy camper! I finally gave in to my desire to buy an mp3 player. Hubby offered his old iPod by I tried it and didn't like it. It was heavy and clunky, the battery doesn't last long, and besides it has all of his music on it. So I bought an iRiver T30. It's so cool!!!! I plugged it in and Suse recognized it immediately. Drag 'n dropped my ogg files into it and voila! Perfect. And it's small and cute and (if you believe the company) the AAA battery lasts for 20 hours!
Since I could never get my sound card to work on Suse Linux, I have never been able to listen to music at work. So now I can! When you share an office with 4 other people, it's sometimes necessary to be able to tune out and focus.
I just need to get some comfy headphones instead of these horrid stick-in-your-ear thingies.
Oooooh I'm so happy...

Oh yes, I'm going to the U2 concert in April

This is old news, but I haven't been writing for a long time so I forgot about it for a while.
I got tickets to the sold-out U2 concert!!!
I had missed out on the first concert and was all bummed out. Then they announced a second concert and this time I was ready. As soon as tickets went on sale (actually an hour before) I was ready at their web site and with phone in hand, it was "reload" and "radial" over and over again for about 4 hours. Just as I was about to give up, I got 2 tickets!! Granted they are on the 6th level and on the side, but so what?? I'm finally going to see U2!
When I was a kid I was the hugest U2 fan ever. Totally nuts. At some point in the 1990's I switched to Pearl Jam. Today I hardly listen to Pearl Jam any more and I think Eddie Vedder is rather pathetic. But I still listen to U2, oh yes...
Anyway, I was their hugest fan in Israel but by the time they finally performed there for the first time, I had just moved to the USA and so I missed them.
Getting the tickets has already caused a bit of a fracas. Hubby's friend's wife is also a huge fan and didn't get any tickets. I had already asked out my good friend, who doesn't especially like U2 or anything, to go with me as a birthday present. Some mild catfighting and attempted bribery ensued, but eventually I managed to diplomatically sort things out.
My Ph.D. graduation ceremony is one week after the U2 concert, and I can tell you that I'm much, much more excited about U2.